Leopon Rising
by Theblazepanzer24
Summary: Leopon had almost always been solo. Sure, for a time she teamed up with Asuna and even joined the Knights of the Blood Oath, but she left after her entire squad died at the hands of Laughing coffins. Now, on the 76th floor, she comes face to face with a kind yet aloof Samurai who'll accept her for who she is, not for who her father is. This, is the story of Leopon.
1. Chapter 1

**A:N: My first Sword Art Online fic. There isn't really much else for me to say here, except that this story is loosely based around and contains spoilers for Sword Art Online Hollow Fragment. Oh, and I do not own Sword Art Online. Enjoy!**

Exhaustion coursed through her body, and she felt herself fading into the blackness of unconsciousness only to snap out of it, feeling her clothes wet across her body. She mentally let out a sigh, and gazed into the rain.

"I can't give up... not yet," she whispered, closing her eyes once again, awaiting the eternal darkness to consume her. She could feel the rain drops falling on her face, slightly stinging her eyes. "It's over." she whispered, closing her eyes for what she thought was the last time.

She awoke to a warm hand shaking her shoulders. "Hey, are you okay?" a voice, male by the sound of it, asked. Leopon opened her pale blue eyes to find herself staring at a total stranger. _Hm, but then again, anyone would be a total stranger,_ she thought. "No, you should just leave me to my fate here," She mummered quietly.

The stranger let out a gasp. "But you'll die if you stay here!" He protested.

Leopon shook her head. "That is the fate I deserve," she deadpanned.

"I'm not going to let you die here," He further protested.

"You really want to help the daughter of the bastard who put us all in this death game," She cried, before she let out a sob. "When SAO first came out, I was so proud of my father and what he had accomplished." She started. "And I was supposed to be one of the first ten thousand players to get to play it after the beta." Her voice shook. "Even though I had no idea what father was doing, I still feel just as guilty as if I did."

The stranger gazed at her evenly. "Then your just as much of a victim as all of us," he mused.

She nodded. "The facts speak for themselves, even if I refuse to believe them in that case." Then, she let out a breath. "But I'll never acknowledge myself as a victim."

"Still, if you feel so guilty about it, you should help the others out clearing the floor," He suggested.

Leopon held a thoughtful look on her face for a moment, then nodded. "I'm too tired to make it to town, you think you could carry me?" She asked sheepishly.

The guy looked taken aback. "You... are you sure you are comfortable with that?" he asked hesitantly.

Leopon gave a small smile. "You seem considerate enough." she mummered, before sitting up and scrunching her legs toward her slightly. "Okay, I'm ready."

Klein picked her up gently, and she let herself breath out a content sigh. "This... actually feels quite comfortable," she whispered, before wrapping her left arm around his shoulder. "So that I don't fall," She cautioned.

Klien nodded. "By the way, my name is Klein," He introduced as he began to carry her toward the town.

"Leopon" She smiled. "Klein is a good name," she added sheepishly.

"You think so?" Klein asked as he moved around a boulder. When Leopon nodded, he gave a small smile. "Your name is nice, too. Unique, but nice."

"Thanks, I was hoping," Leopon began, but then yawned. "Hoping it was unique sounding," she finished before fading into sleep once again.

Klein began to ponder why she was so exhausted as he crossed though the gate threshold to Arc Sophia. _Did she get into a fight?_ He asked himself. Maybe, but he couldn't be sure, and all that he knew was that Leopon needed a safe and warm place to rest.

Arriving in the inn, he noticed curious looks aimed at him. As whispering broke out, Leopon blinked open her eyes and glanced around. "Thank you Klein, I think I can make it now," she noted softly, landing on her feet softly as Klein helped her to stand. "It's alright, he found me exhausted outside of town and was kind enough to carry me to this inn." she explained to the onlookers, who promptly went back to their own business.

She then turned to Klein. "Thank you." She then opened a menu and sent a friends request. "At the least, think if it as a way to contact me if you need any help with anything." She added.

Klein accepted the friends request. "Hey... uh... me and a few of my friends are going on an item hunt in a few days. Would you like to join us?" he asked nervously.

Leopon gave him a warm smile. "Sure! Just message me the details and I'll be there."

Klein returned her smile.

Sunlight flooded her room at the inn and she blinked as she rose out of her bed. "Morning already?" she asked nobody in particular. Giving her arms a stretch, she rose out of bed and equipped her armor. She had an orange and black zip-up jacket, with a small breastplate, and black trousers with combat boots. Her jacket was short sleeve, and she didn't opt to use any kind of gloves or arm wear.

Exiting the Inn, she checked her inventory one last time before heading out to the meeting place. As she approached, she saw Klein wave at her.

"Hey, Leopon, perfect timing!" Klein explained. "We where just going over today's quest."

Leopon listened as Klein began. "Alright, today we need to gather 20 insect stingers. This might take a few hours, but hopefully, it won't take too long." He then paused, and gazed at Leopon. "There are a few rules we have when it comes to item drops." he added. "Unless it is an item we need for a quest or for materials we need for something we need to make, if you get an item drop, you get to keep it. As for Col, twenty percent of the total goes to running the Fuurinkazan, and the rest is split evenly among the party members. Fair enough?"

Leopon nodded. "That perfectly fine with me," she ok-ed.

"Alright, that about explains everything, so let's get this show on the road!"

Leopon equipped her weapons, which included a jagged red rapier called Red's Thornbaron, and shield similar to Commander Heathcliff's, except instead of being white and red, hers was solid blue with no designs. After everything was in order among the group, they headed out as a group, into the plains outside the town. "There's some of them Hornets now!" Dale called out, pointing wildly.

Leopon rushed forward, taking out one of them which was on it's own. As she gazed around to check the other members of the party, she noticed that most of them where doing just fine, usually needing to only use two or three hits. _I guess their levels are pretty high too._ She supposed. She then took out another Hornet, mentally chuckling with the ease it shattered from her swords power.

Red's Thornbaron was among the most powerful rapiers in the game, but it's power made it significantly slower than other rapiers in the game. Considering most rapier users focused on speed and agility, it didn't usually fit their fighting style. However, even though it was heaver and slower than most rapiers, it was marginally faster and a bit easier to control than most one handed swords. Mix it in with a good shield and it was a very effective weapon.

Suddenly, Leopon heard a scream and noticed that Klein was being attacked by what appeared to be a large spider, with black, purple and read markings. _Hold on Klein, I'm coming!_ She mentally yelled, before rushing in and hitting the spider with a rather elaborate sword technique.

The spider mob cringed as it felt the move begin to take it's toll, and then, bang. Millions of shards surrounded Leopon as her move finished up. _Hm, guess that was a mini boss._ She thought to herself before turning to Klein. "Hey, you okay?" she asked gently, keeling to where he was sitting.

"Yes, thanks to you." he then got up and brushed off his pants. "Thank you Leopon."

Leopon also stood up and nodded. "I'm just glad you are okay." she mummered softly. _He lost a quarter of his health from that attack. I wonder just how high his level really is._ Leopon decided not to ask, as she did not want to seem rude or suggest that Klein couldn't take care of himself.

"Hey, Boss, I think we have enough of them stingers, should we head back?" one of the guys asked.

Klein looked thoughtful for a moment. "Yeah, it might be best if we do."

"I'll bring up the rear." Leopon offered. When no one objected, she walked behind them after they took off, keeping a sharp eye on the surroundings around them.

Unannounced to Leopon, a conversation was taking place.

"You are thinking of inviting her into the guild, aren't you boss?"

"Huh? Well, maybe I'm considering the possibility, but... it might be too soon." he then looked to the others.

"Well, she seems trustworthy. And she's definitely strong, I saw her taking those hornets out with one blow!"

"And the way she rushed in to save you? That was pretty heroic."

Klein thought for a while. "So, you are thinking along the same lines?"

They one by one nodded. "I think she'll make an excellent addition. "

"Okay, I'll invite her for our next quest. After that, if nothing changes, I'll invite her to one of the local coffee shops and bring up the subject," Klein promised.

Back in the rear, Leopon noticed the gates to Ark Sophia up ahead. _Well, I have managed to survive another day in the fields, it seems._

"Klein! Klein! Have you seen Kirito!" A girl in a Blood Oath's uniform cried desperately.

"No, Why, what's the problem Asuna?" Klein asked, sounding quite worried.

 _Wait, that's Asuna? No way!_ I thought, before giving her a good look over. _It is!_ I thought excitedly.

"He isn't here! I've searched and searched for him, but I can't find him anywhere!" Asuna cried.

Leopon could tell Asuna was panicking. "It's okay Asuna, I'll help you look." She opened up.

"Le...Leopon?" Asuna sputtered, not quite believing what she was seeing.

"Wait, you know each other?" Klein asked, now confused.

Asuna gave an affirmative nod. "Yeah, we use to be in the Kights of the Blood Oath together." she explained, before a girl in pigtails showed up. "We managed to find Kirito," she reported.

"Oh, thank you Silica!"Asuna warmly spoke, before turning to Leopon. "I need to introduce you to my husband." she added softly, before walking off.

Leopon gave a small sigh. "Well, this ought to be good." she mummered before turning to Klein. "Hey, listen, here is the stingers I acquired from the mission." She explained, opening a trade window. After Klein accepted, she then decided to leave the party.

"But what about your experience?" Klein protested.

Leopon let out a sigh. "I guess you've noticed how easily I took down that spider?" she began.

Klein nodded.

"My levels is 142." Leopon explained, before turning to leave. "Let me know if you need me for anything, alright," she replied before running off to catch up with Asuna.

Klein stood there for a moment, before letting out a humored Sigh. "Level 142, huh? I wonder what she had to do to get to such a high level?" he asked himself before heading back to the quest NPC.

Leopon fell in step beside Asuna. "So, what exactly is all this about you getting a husband?" She asked.

Asuna gazed at Leopon. "Well, me and Kirito have been though a lot over the past year, and... we just fell for each other." she explained.

 _Kirito? His name sounds familiar, somehow._ However, she decided to just to leave it at that.

"Anyways, what where you doing with the Fuurinkazan?" Asuna brought up.

"Oh, their leader, Klein, kinda saved my life and I'm helping them out in return." Leopon explained.

"Did they demand or you offer?"

"I offered," Leopon then smirked. "You'll never guess how Klein saved my life."

"Woah woah woah? Klen saved your life?" Asuna exclaimed like it was the most weird thing that she heard in her life.

Leopon grinned. "Yep! It was raining hard and I was lying there, exhausted half to death in the field when he showed up. He was kind enough to carry me to the inn in this town, and that was about it."

Asuna just blinked. "He didn't try to do anything perverted, did he?" She finally managed to get out.

"No, if anything, I may have put my arm around his neck, but other than that, nothing of the sort happened." She then gave Asuna that one look Asuna always knew Leopon would give when she was about to say something that would cause someone to gape. "Boy, was that ride fun. Maybe I can get him to do it again sometime."

Gasping, Asuna just shook her head. "Don't tell me you've fallen for him already." she demanded.

Leopon chuckled. "Nope! But... I would like to get to know him a bit better."

Asuna shook her head doubtfully. "The seeds of romance have been firmly planted in you, my good friend."

Deciding to just admit to it, she just nodded. "Okay, maybe I do kinda like what I've seen out of him so far. That doesn't mean I am in love with him, alright," she clarified.

"Sure Leopon, Sure," Asuna doubted. _Leopon has started falling for Klein?_ She thought, utterly shocked. However, the more she thought about it, the more it made sense that her friend just might be beginning to fall for the Fuurinkazan leader. _Think about it Asuna, they are both adults, Klein saved Leopon's life, and they have a somewhat similar personality._ Asuna shuddered mentally when she remember catching Leopon in the act of girl watching. _That' I'll never forget._

Arriving at the Teleport gate, Leopon watched as Asuna ran up to her husband. As she watched Asuna's state of mind and actions, she pondered about what had happened to her. _How? I know Asuna is tough and a bit teasing at times, but I have never seen this side of her._ After a few moments, Asuna motioned for her to join in.

"Oh, and Kirito, this is Leopon, an old friend of mine, and a former member of the Blood Oath. "Leopon, this is my husband, Kirito." Leopon gaped, looking between the two for a moment. "Wait, you married the Black Swordsman?" She gasped, just realizing who Kirito was. She then smiled. "Asuna chose well."

Kirito and Asuna blushed at that comment. Chitchatting a bit, they decided to head back to the inn for the night. "So, you where forced teleported, right?" Leopon questioned.

"Yeah, that is right," Kirito admitted.

"Hollow Area, right?"

"Yeah... wait, how do you know about the place?"

Leopon sighed. "I've been going back and forth between the area for a while now. Most people can't just go between the two, but... I could."

Asuna tipped her head. "So, what is this world like?"

"Well, it's dangerous. Between weaker versions of floor bosses, higher mob levels, and player killers, it's not a good place to be stuck in. However," she then paused. "If you can manage to avoid the pk'ers, and defeat the mobs, then it;s a good place to train and houses pretty powerful weapons and bosses."

Asuna shook her head. "Maybe we shouldn't go there then."

Leopon nodded. "At least, not unless you know how to survive the dangers. But, it might be worth training some of our closest friends, you can really level up fast."

Kirito looked thoughtful. "Can you tell us anything else, Leopon?"

Leopon nodded. "First off, you have to be an administrator or moderator to go back and forth. And in order to be consider that, you have to have special unique skills in order to do that."

"What kind of skills?"

"Well, let's see... I think it has to do with weaponry. Dual welding, prime shield attack, and other skills like that."

"I know there was a member of Titans hand who can dual weld axes." Kirito offered.

"Then, you have to be chosen by the cardinal system, or Kayaba himself. After that, you can go back and forth. Moderators and admins can bring one person with them each, however if an admin and another admin or moderator enter together, they can bring up to three people with them."

Kirito let out a sigh as he entered the inn. "I'm going to get it from the other girls again, aren't I?"

Asuna just smirked. "That you are."

Leopon smiled slightly. Oh, this will be good. She followed them into the inn, quite surprised that it was the same inn she had been staying at.

"Oh, so you managed to find him, and... who is this?" A girl with pink hair asked curiously.

"This is my good friend Leopon." Asuna introduced as Leopon bowed her head. "It is nice to meet you," Leopon began polity.

After everything settled down, Leopon took her seat and listened at the girls rattled off on Kirito. "Oh, and I meet someone in the hollow area."

At this the all the girls glared at Kirito. "This someone..."

"Was a girl, wasn't it?"

After confirming that, and mentioning her name, Leopon just sat there quietly, amused. _Oh, cat fight!_ She thought excitedly, but then frowned as everything died down after the mention of a Skull Reaper.

"Can a boss like that really exist there?" Asuna asked, before turning to Leopon.

"Yes, actually. I've only fought a weaker version of Illfang, but I have seen quite a few other bosses down there."

Asuna then demanded Kirito to rest. "But my HP and stats are fine," he protested. Leopon however, was quite tired and simply said, "Tell you what, if you promise to rest now and spend the day with Asuna tomorrow, I'll give you a tour of what I know about the hollow area the day after, okay?"

"Sure, thanks Leopon, I'll just go and rest up now." He smiled, before heading up to his room.

"Thanks Leopon," Asuna whispered before following him. She just smiled. _No problem, Asuna,_ she thought before yawning. "I'm going to retire for the night as well." she mummered, before making her way to her bead and switched to her sleeping clothes, a pair of sleeping jogs and a white sleeveless shirt. She then curled up and smiled under the covers. _Klien was right, how could I have been so stupid to think it was okay for me to let myself die just like that. Still... I...I am no victim of this game. I'll never acknowledge that,_ she thought before drifting into sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is chapter two. Enjoy!**

Klein and several of his friends where chatting at the inn about random things. "And so then me and Leopon where fighting against these hornets, you see, and then this big spider comes up, knocking one of my guys off his feet. So what does Leopon do? She pulls off this weird sword skill and one hit Ko's the blasted thing."

"So what happened after that?" Lizbeth asked.

"Well, Klein begin," and began to tell the story of how Leopon joined his guild.

 **Yesterday:**

"So, you wanted to meet with me here,?" Klien asked, sitting down at one of the tables. For some reason Leopon had wanted to meet with him but wouldn't say why. _Not that it matters, as I was going to request to meet with her in private anyways._

"Well, there was something I kinda wanted to ask after we eat, if that's alright." Leopon began.

Klien noticed what appeared to be a small blush across her face, but he couldn't tell. "Actually, there was something I was going to ask you as well," he confessed.

"Oh?" Leopon gave a small smile. "What is it?"

"Well, when we've been on the field, you've been a big asset to the guys, and we've been talking." Klien paused before continuing. "Leopon, we'd like to offer you a place with the Furinkazin."

Leopon starred for a second, slightly stunned. "Well, that wasn't what I was going to ask, but, sure, I'd love to join." she replied after a few seconds.

"Excellent!" Klien then open the request window and sent the join offer to her, and Leopon rapidly accepted.

"I'll need to get some new armor, or at least dye my current armor red." she replied, before taking a bite out of her soup.

The two ate, making idle chit-chat, and before long, they had finished their meal. "So, Leopon, what did you want to ask me?"

Leopon blushed slightly. "I... well... I was wanting to ask if you'd like to go on a date with me," she answered, her voice held honestly along with a bit of shyness.

Klien blinked a bit before smiling. "Sure," he accepted happily."

 **present:**

Klien forgo mentioning the last part of the story just in case they got the wrong idea. Sure, it was Leopon who asked, but given his apparent desperation to get a girl friend, they might think that he may have coached her into going out with him, instead of him simply accepting Leopon's offer.

"So, you just invited her?" Asuna asked, and Klien nodded in response. _There is something he's hiding. I'll have to ask Leopon about it later._ However, before she could reply, she noticed a certain black swordsman with a stranger sitting on his lap.

"Hey," Liz asked quietly. "Isn't that Kirito? And who is that sitting on his lap."

Asuna glared at the two. "I have no idea but they sure seem like close friends," she replied in an oddly joyful voice which didn't match up with her expression at all.

"Um Asuna," Liz glanced over. "Are you okay? I mean you say that but your eyes are telling a different story.

Silica joined in the glaring fest. "Whatever, there is a line to be crossed and it's just been crossed." She growled.

Klien then smirked. "Hey, if anyone wants to sit in my lap, they are more than welcome to!" He called out, not realizing the Lioness had walked down into the room.

"Seriously, if you want someone to sit in your lap, you should get a cat." Sinon deadpanned.

"Hey now I was just..." Klien stopped when he felt a warm body plot down on him. "Leopon?" He asked, causing the girls to stare at him for a moment.

"I knew it!" Asuna cried loudly.

Leopon tipped her head. "Yes, yes you did." She confirmed, though misunderstanding what she meant.

"Just what did he do to you?" Asuna screamed, and the blond haired Lioness shrunk back from the angry glares.

"Now just hold on a moment," She growled after regaining her composure. "If you are insinuating that Klien did something to me, your wrong. Dead wrong." The other girls flinched at her ferocity. "I invited young Klien here do dinner a few nights ago, and asked him to take me on a date. Ever since then, our relationship has been steady growing, but we haven't done anything more than chat till now." she clarified more calmly.

Asuna just shook her head. "Oh, I thought that... never mind." She then turned her head back to where Kirito was. "Hey, Leopon, do you know who that girl is?"

Leopon shook her head. "No idea." She then let out a smirk. "You gonna treat us to a cat fight?"

Everyone except Asuna just stared at Leopon after she said that. "I... I can't believe you'd say that," Liz stammered after a bit.

Shaking her head Asuna just chuckled. "Only in your dreams, Leopon." Turning to Klien, she smirked. "She's your problem now," and with that, she went to challenge Kirito.

Silica join Asuna, while Leafa, Sinon and Liz just stood there. "What does she mean by that?" Liz asked, not really expecting anyone to answer.

"She means that she's not in the mood to put up with my personality." Leopon smirked before turning to Klien. "So," she began before whispering in his ear. "How bout we go to the hollow area later on and do some training?"

Klien smiled. "If you want to."

"Just what are you two planning," Liz asked, her hands on her hips.

"Just a nice quiet stroll in the park," Leopon squeaked. A Klien and Leopon had worked out a secrete code yesterday. If they where intending to spend time together incognito, they'd say they where gong to train in the hollow area. But if they where actually going to the hollow area, they'd just say they where going there.

"Huh huh." Liz turned around as Asuna approached. "Strea's a complete social whirlwind." she panted.

"Eh, it's probably not Kirito's fault." Leopon piped up.

Kirito took a double take at the girl sitting in Kliens lap. "Uh, you two a thing?" He asked.

Leopon flared. "Worry bout you an Asuna before you worry bout us." she growled, causing him to recoil. "However, yes, me and Klien are dating. Oh, and Kirito, you'd better take Asuna out on a really good date after this, expectantly since I didn't get my cat fight."

"Leopon," Asuna whined. "Why are you always so interested in cat fights anyways?"

"Because they are fun to watch," Leopon replied smugly. And to be fair I was also expecting a cat fight back at the hotel. Dratted Skull Reaper.

"It's not a cat fight if it is against a boy," Sinon argued.

"Um, but it is still girls fighting," Leopon argued.

Kirito was smirking. "Well, it seems like you got you an intriguing girlfriend" he commented, before shrinking back once again due to Asuna's and Leopon's joint glare. "Don't get any funny idea's buster!" they shouted at them.

Leafa chuckled. "Looks like brother is really getting it bad today, huh?"

Liz and Sinon agreed. "Yes, but he did kinda start this weird day, didn't he?"

"Can't argue with you there," Leafa agreed, before glancing at Leopon. Something about her intrigued Leafa, though for what reason she had no idea. There was something slightly familiar about her though.

Suddenly, the memory hit her. "No way," she whispered, as her memory took her back.

"Enough stalling, just give us all your money and we'll be on our way," A guy, about 4'6" demanded, glaring at her.

Suguha felt the tears crawling down her eyes as she reluctantly reached into her pockets, only to glance up as a blond-yellowish haired girl about the same size as the boy punched him squarely in the jaws. "Don't you know it's not polite to pick on people!" She demanded.

"I'm gonna beat ya up for that, Lyra!" the boy screamed, before finding himself on the floor again thanks to a roundhouse kick. Suguha was beyond shocked at how this Lyra had done so, not even caring that she was wearing one of them shorter skirts. Not so much a mini skirt but shorter than a knee length skirt.

"You...your crazy!" The boy stammared before taking off. Lyra let out a sigh before turning to Suguha. "Are you okay miss," She asked, kneeling down.

Suguha let out a nod. "Yeah, I am thanks to you." She then let out a smile. "My names

Kirigira Suguha."

"Carna Lyra, though you can call me Leopon if you wish. That's what my friends call me anyhow."

Leafa woke up from her flashback. _So you've made it into SAO too, huh? And you used your old nickname, it would seem._ Suguha and Lyra had became friends after that, but sadly three years later Lyra ended up moving and the two had fallen out of touch.

 _Will you remember me, Leopon?_


	3. Chapter 3

Gazing around, the Lioness watched as many people where playing poker. _Hm, perhaps I may play as well, but … I don't,_ Leopon paused her train of thought as she overheard Agil and Kirito talking discussing opening up a game.

"Mind if I play?" she asked, sitting down.

"Sure the more the merrier. " Kirito offered.

"We need a prize," Lizbeth admitted.

Asuna shook her head. "Well, we can't use money." she pointed out.

 _Um, why can't we use money?_ Leopon thought to herself.

"Um, I know, how about whoever wins get's exclusive rights to Kirito," Silica suggested.

 _Ah yes, Kirito. Now how did I not see that coming up,_ she thought sarcasticly. Leopon had long suspected that Kirito had some sort of major attraction with his friends which for some reason caused him to have a bit of a herem situation. Of course, that being said, Leopon knew that exclusive rights to the young swordsman could be very benifical to her, and she didn't want to cause a rukus, so she just shrugged off any doubts she had. "If it's fine with Asuna, then yeah, I'm okay with it."

Leopon soon found herself in a battle with Kirito, Klien, Silica, Asuna, Leafa, Strea, Sinon, and Liz. She looked at her hand, and noticed that she had a fairly good hand.

Klien opted to raise, and even though Leopon could kinda tell he was bluffing, she didn't call him.

"Call."

Watching the prize of the game call was a bit odd for the swordswoman, and she barely surpassed a giggle as Klien was flustered over losing all his chips. "Don't worry Klien, if I don't win, I'll take you somewhere nice, alright?" she offered.

Klien let out a smile. "Alright then, I'll hold you to that."

Leopon watched as people kept putting all on the line, while she was being conservative with her bets. Now she had never been much of a real life gambler, but she did enjoy the occasional pachinko machine every once and a while, and she knew that it was better to be conservative. Plus, she'd occasionally play at a casino when her father visited America, and would usually end up winning a bit of extra spending cash as a result.

Finally, it came down to her, Strea, Sinon and Kirito. "My Turn. I raise," Leopon smiled. Strea called, and Leopon showed her hand, which at this point was pretty decent, knocking Strea out of the game. _It's just me, Sinon, and Kirito left._

However, as it was Kirito's turn, he put out one of the most powerful combinations possible. Leopon frowned, as Sinon folded without even turning over her cards. _Hm, guess her hand wasn't so good._ However, as she was the only one left in the game, she had to make due with her rather meager hand. "Fold." Leopon called, to everyone's surprise, before showing a two and a five.

In the end, since Kirito was the prize, he decided to spend the day with Yui. Klien and Leopon Quietly changed into civilian gear and headed out to the fountain to enjoy a nice quiet evening together. They decided to go with simple pants and kline had on a red long sleeve shirt where as Leopon opted for a planer white short sleeve tunic with red stripes.

"Hey, Klien?"

"Yes,"

"Kirito is one lucky guy." Leopon replied quietly.

Klien gazed at her breify. "Yeah, I know," he breathed.

 _Well, here goes nothing._ "Maybe we could be that lucky." Her whispered words caused klien to smile a bit.

"Maybe we can." he admitted.

Leopon laid her head on his shoulder. "If we become as close as Kirito and Asuna, think we can become a couple back in the real world?"

Klien stroked her bangs gently, something he found out quickly that Leopon had enjoyed. "I'm sure we could." he concluded. Leopon gave him a gently smile before her breathing slowed into the gently rise and fall of sleep.

As Leopon rested, still suffering from her tired spells, Klien reflected on his relationship with Leopon. They hadn't been together long, but they seemed to fit in well together, having similar likes, dislikes, and personalities He was surprised how quickly they where moving, but not uncomfortable with it, and Leopon gave no indication of feeling rushed, so he let it go.

However, unannounced to those outside of the Furinkazen and Asuna, Leopon had nightmares about her father being the creator of the game. She had let those in her guild know who she was in relation to Kayaba so that they'd have no reservations about her being in the guild if they found out later, and she had admitted the fact to Asuna when they where fresh in the blood oath. These nightmares where harsh on Leopon, so much so that she had set up a bed in Klien's room in case she woke up bailing or screaming, which happened at least every few nights.

Klien knew for all her ferociousness and valor, that Leopon was delicate, a soul on the brink of breaking. However, he also knew that he loved her, and that she loved him, that they would look out for each other. That day they had met, for him it felt like destiny meant for them to meet. Either way, he was glad that they did.

Said girl let out a yawn, distracting Klien from his reflections. "Shall we get back?" He asked her softly.

"Yeah," Leopon sighed, before almost falling asleep again before catching herself. "Can...can you carry me back?" she asked, a small line of red flustered across her face.

"Sure," Klien smiled, and like he did two weeks ago, gently picked her up and made his way back to the inn. As he laid her down on the bed he noticed that he Asuna had followed, having a gaze of worry on her face as she watched him.

"She's been getting rather sleepy a lot, hasn't she?" Asuna questioned.

Klien sighed as he sat down on his bed, with Asuna setting beside him. "Yeah, she's been a bit conservative on the guild duties, though when she working with the guild, she always pulls more than her own weight.

"When she was in the Blood oath, it was the same way." Asuna admitted before sitting next to him. "She didn't often go on raids and such, but when she did, she would always work harder than any of us." She then gazed at Leopon. "Sometimes I wonder, if there is something affecting her in the real world, like a condition or something?"

Klien looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure she'd admit it, but if there is, then I need to know about it. As long as she is in my guild, her safety is at least partially my responsibility."

Asuna looked at him, her gaze softening as she noticed his expression of worry. "That, and you really like her." She noted, though her voice held no condemnation.

Nodding in agreement, Klien simply agreed. "Yeah, I do."

 **Real world:**

"How's her vital's, doc?"

A young woman in her late twenties let out a sigh, "Well, her brain scans indicate that she's currently sleeping, I can only hope it is in a safe zone with her friends."

Breathing a sigh of relief, he nodded determinedly. "Cardinal has covertly sent us a list of friends she's made in game, so if she makes it to the end, she'll have somewhere to start." However, the man's face was grim. "That being said, she'll never be able to hold down a real job. Function on her on, yes? But hold down work? Certainly not."

"Optimalhypoamsomnea," The nurse muttered. "Even when the body is fully rested, it sometimes nearly collapses in tiredness."

 **SAO:**

Leopon woke up as sunlight filtered down out of the window. She noticed Klien was sitting on his bed, organizing his items.

"Getting ready for today's quest?" She asked, setting beside him.

"Yeah, can't wait to go hunt those boars." He smiled, before turning to her. "Did you sleep well?" he asked gently.

Leopon nodded. "Yep!"

Gazing at the number of boars, the Lioness let out a laugh. "This is all we have to kill?" She asked, gazing at the fifty boars. "Well then, what are we waiting for, let's get em!"

The other members of the party nodded and they charged, Leopon quickly dispatching three of the boars with an AOE skill. _Three down, and at least 43 to go,_ she thought, taking into account that each of the members had already scored at least one kill.

"Klien! Someone, Help!" Leopon inwardly flinched as one of her fellow guild members was in trouble but she quickly rushed forward, thrusting her Rapair at the three boars holding the fellow furikazin member down. She quickly, though more carefully so as not to hurt her friend, killed the enemy boars. "Thanks Leopon, drinks are on me tonight."

Leopon gave him a smile. "Stick beside me okay?" She asked, before charging at another boar, glancing to see him joining her in the charge.

To her horror, she saw another boar, this one much larger than the other. "Okay, I'm going to git it with a Knight's charge, then you switch with me. Rinse, repeat until it's gone." She whispered before charging."

He gave a tense nod and Leopon performed the all too familiar move, bashing the boars head with her shield before jabbing her rapier in it's neck. "Now Caravel!" she commanded.

The youngest member of the guild, at age 19, dived in, using one of his more powerful long-ax skills. Leopon smiled at him, before finishing the Boar off with a Ripe Larwine. "Good job," Leopon panted.

"Thanks, you did great too," Caravel replied, bending down as he caught his breath.

Klien walked up slowly to the two. "I never expected for a larger boar to try and interrupt us, you did good." He beamed before frowning. "Um Caravel, look at your health."

Leopon gasped at how low it was. "I...I"m sorry, I should have noticed that before," She stammered, tears in her eyes.

"No no, it's fine Leopon, you can't be noticing everything at once in the battle field," He then sighed. "If anyone is at fault, it's me for not saying something."

Klien was about to reprimand them both, but Leopon was actually crying now and since they both seemed to understand the situation, he decided against it. "Hey, it's okay Leopon, Carvel is safe and,"

Leopon glared at him. "No, it's not okay!" She yelled, before running off into the town. Klien let out a sigh. "I'll follow her, you guys go on ahead and collect the reward with out me."

Carvel ran up to him. "She... she saved my life back there, I was pinned down by three boars." He told him quietly. "Now I feel so guilty about causing all this trouble."

The leader stared at him for a moment before his gazed softened. "You've had a hard day, go rest up, I'll look after Leopon." He commanded before heading back to the town.

He decided to check his room first, to see if she was there. Just as he suspected she was there, and his heart tore as she was crying on his pillow.

Leopon gazed at him. "I should leave the guild..." She whimpered. "I'm just as bad as he is,"

"Who?" Klien asked, though he was dreading that he knew what she would say next.

"Kyaba," she then started sobbing.

Klien hugged her tightly. "That's not true Leopon, you genuinely care about people, and you've done nothing wrong." he told her firmly.

"But...But Caravel could have died because I didn't realize how low his health was." Leopon argue.

Klien let out a sigh. "You saved his life, and you had to respond to an incoming threat. There really wasn't much you could have done differently either way." Klien told her.

"Promise?" Leopon asked hopefully.

"Promise."

She let out a sigh. "Thanks Klien." she whispered, before curling up and falling asleep.

 _Exhausted again?_ He thought to himself. However, he couldn't blame her. She had been upset and fought a harsh battle. He gently rose up and sat down on his bead, placing his head in his hands for a moment before gazing at her. _Stupid Kayaba! Placing his daughter through all of this!_ He thought in anger.

He forced himself to calm down. "There really wasn't anything you could have done differently." he whispered quietly. True, Leopon could have had him use a healing crystal or potion, but then she would have to have taken that boar on by herself, and who knows what would have happened.

 _Poor Leopon._


	4. Chapter 4

**A:N I have corrected some spelling errors in previous chapters.**

 **Additionally, I'd like to thank those who have favored and followed this story, and a special thanks to Lojky for his review.**

 **Here is chapter 4. Enjoy!**

The Lioness could tell that everyone was nervous as they waited for Asuna to begin the meeting. Several days ago, the Knights of the Blood Oath had found the boss room for floor 76, and having all the data they could find on the boss, it was decided that there wasn't any need in waiting around. And so it was that Leopon found herself standing beside Klien anxiously waiting to get the show on the road.

Watching as she addressed the group, she watched her best friend, well at least friend that was a girl. _Wait a moment, whatever happened to Heathcliff?_ She hadn't heard of all of the events which transpired at the boss fight of floor 75, so she was kinda in the dark about what had happened.

Eventually, the meeting died down and those in the Furinkazen grouped together to begin the mass teleport. "Alright guys, remember, we all make it out alive, alright?" Klien reminded them. Leopon let out a nod of determination.

"There's no way I'm gonna die." she muttered determinedly. _Not by my father's creation._ She added silently as she followed her guild leader into the bosses room. Getting a good look at the boss, she confirmed her suspicions. _Gastlygaze? Looks more like some of those eye balls which I've fought in the hollow area._

Before she knew it, she was in a literal sword dance, slashing and hacking whenever she got the chance to. Preforming a double back flip to escape an incoming laser blast from the foe's large eye, she unleashed her Knights charge skill, which was one of the offensive shield-type sword skills which you could begin to learn once your shield's proficiency was maxed out.

Knight's charge was a powerful 2 move sword skill in which the user charged the enemy with his or her shield, then follow up with a sword jab. The skill itself was basic, and anyone who maxed out their shield skills would automatically acquire it. However, as it was normally considered a beginners skill, it wasn't something you'd use in a boss fight.

Unless you where a level 143 Leopon with the offensive shield unique skill. Due to this skill, Knight's Charge was much more powerful. Combine that with her level and her Red's Thornbaron and you have a very powerful combination. Her single skill took a considerable size chunk out of the boss's hp gaze, and she noticed that she had inflicted a bleeding effect on the enemy.

"Now's our chance!" Someone yelled, before nearly half of the assult team rushed in while the bleeding effect was still in effect. Leopon however retreated to the back lines and slumped over for a bit, tring to catch her breath.

"You okay Leopon, maybe you oughta fall back?" Klien remarked, pausing briefly to gaze at his friend.

Leopon let out a sigh. "No, I'll be fine," she deadpanned before rushing back into the battle. She let out a ripe larwne on the boss, before switching with Klien. "We've got this," she muttered determinedly.

On and on this went, for about the next 15 minuets, till finally, Leopon swung at the boss, and causing it to shatter into a million peaces. Huffing from fatigue, she gazed ahead, then turn to the girl whom was about to be hit by the boss before Leopon intervened. "You alright?"

"Yeah, thanks to you," the girl replied, her light green eyes dull with fright, but her face had a small smile plastered on it. "That way you finished the boss off was amazing."

In her tiredness, Leopon didn't know what she meant by that and she simply turned to Klien. "Can we go back to the inn now, I feel like I'm going to fall over." she whined tiredly.

Klien gave her a reassuring smile. "Sure, anything for you, champ."

 **Real world:**

"We've got another update from Cardinal."

"Well, read it on my doc,"

"Ahem, it says, DOK, LAB-76, TRD, FND-KLN, ESC, INN."

"Alright, so that means daughter of Kayaba achieved the last attack bonus for floor 76. She tired, and one of her friends is escorting her to one of the inns."

Taking a look at the monitor, he sighed in relief at her brainwaves. "Whoever this friend is, Lyra must really like him a lot." he commented, noticing similar patterns which show up when a couple holds hands.

 **Ancrad:**

She found herself waking up to the familiar face of Asuna gazing worriedly at her. "Did... did we beat the boss?" Leopon asked, her voice groggy as she sat up and gazed at her friend.

"Yeah, we did."

Leopon let out a sigh of relief. "How many did we lose."

Asuna smiled at that. "No one." she then gazed seriously at Leopon. "Do you remember the girl you saved at the end of the fight?"

 _I...I saved someone?_ Leopon thought frantically, desperately trying to remember. She then shook her head no. "I... I'm sorry Asuna, but I don't."

Shock met Asuna's face, and Leopon could easily see that her friend was worried. "Hey listen," Asuna finally began after a moment of silence. "If there is something affecting you, you'd tell me, right?" Asuna's face was serious now. "Me and Klien have noticed you've been getting tired lately, and we've been really worried."

 _How...How can I tell them? They...they will put me on the side lines for sure,_ Leopon thought, before sighing. "Alright, but please, don't tell anyone else, especially Klien or the Furinkazin. I... I need to tell them myself."

 _I kinda figured something was wrong,_ Asuna thought. "Alright, but you have to tell Klien." Asuna's gaze then softened. "He loves you very much, and if something was going to put you in unnecessary danger, then he need to know." She paused, before hitting the nail on the coffin. "Imagine how he would have felt had you died because he took you on a quest or boss raid and your condition made you unfit for the job."

Shuddering, Leopon burst into tears, realizing how close he was to death. She tried to dry them away quickly, but they kept coming. "I'm sorry, but your right." she whimpered. "There is something wrong, and I've been putting myself at risk too much."

Looking up at her friend, she recomposed herself, though her voice was sad. "Promise me that you'll make sure Klien doesn't just toss me aside after I tell him. It's not that I distrust him, but he works so hard with the furinkazin... and he might get distracted."

Asuna nodded. "Sure,"

Leopon prepared herself. "Okay, in the real world, I have this disease called Optimalhypoamsomnea, a medical condition where the body thinks it is tired when it isn't. They are two variation to it, variation A, where the brain Randall picks up on tiredness, and variation B, which is the one I have. Variation B Optimalhypoamsomnea occurs after person has expanded a certain amount of energy, about the equivalent of 80 minuets worth of a moderate work-out in my case.

"But a boss fight is considered to be about the same as an hour's worth of a difficult work out. And most quest are similar to a 70 minute work out, so that would mean..." Asuna's eyes widened in shock. "Leopon! Most of the time you are overexerting yourself, haven't you?"

Leopon nodded sadly. "See, here is the thing though. If this was what sword art online had been sold to the public as, a VRMMO, I could fight for several hours without getting tired, as the body isn't exerting an large amount of energy. However, because I've been in SAO for so long that...

"Your mind has started rendering your actions in the game as the same as if you where working that hard in the real world." Asuna finished.

Giving out a yawn, Leopon nodded. "I'm still kinda tired, but can I ask you a few things before I go back to bed?" she asked sheepishly.

Asuna understood. Between telling her of her secrete and blanking out at the end of the match, Leopon needed some answers. "I'll just tell you everything, alright? If I miss anything, you can ask me after."

Leopon nodded, before lying down, still gazing at her friend. "Alright, I'm ready Asuna."

"Well, for starters, the girl you saved was named Amy, and she'd like to meet with you later. Klien has the details. After the match, Klien carried you to the inn, and stood beside you for at least 6 hours before he fell asleep. I've been with you for two hours." Asuna paused for a moment before remembering something important. "Oh, and you got the last attack bonus."

Leopon sat up promptly, excited. "Wait, what?" she squealed before opening her inventory, noticing a sword. Getting up, she equipped the sword, a purple sword with quadruple blades. "This is rather different," she commented, before sheathing it. "Well, although my rapair skills are in top notch, my one handed sword skills are pretty good, and considering recent events, I think I might use this sword some.

Asuna could not help but to let out a chuckle at the girl's excitement. "I think it's a great weapon for you."

Leopon nodded. "Thanks!" She then the sword back in her inventory. "I might take it out tomorrow and practice with it a bit." She then paused for a second. "I won't go far, though."

 **Real world:**

"Her scans show excitement, similar to someone getting a gift, but different."

The nurse had a suspicion. "Is their any sign of models 125-B?"

Glancing at the monitor, one of the staff workers shook his head. "Nope!"

Adjusting her glasses, the nurse let out a chuckle. "She must have realized that she had the last attack bonus, then."

About three hours after the last message, Cardinal had sent in another message. As it turned out, this message was actually stats for a weapon, followed by the code LEO-LAB-EQP. It about the sixth time Cardinal had done that, but the last had been code LEO-EQP-RTB.

"I wonder if Leopon knows who Cardinal really is to her?" The nurse asked quietly.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: **Here is chapter 5. Enjoy!**

Leopon was drinking a cup of apple juice at Agil's inn, while Kirito was explaining who the nights of the Blood oath where to Sinon and Leafa.

"Wow, Asuna's is amazing," Leafa gasped in awe after Kirito revealed that she is the second in command of the KoB.

 _Awesome Asuna,_ Leopon thought, smiling at how she use to annoy the vice commander by saying that on occasion.

"Yep, she's the best!" Kirito laughed, before becoming serious. "Then there is Heathcliff, who was the leader of the Knights.

 _Wait, was?_ Leopon thought, now interested. Apparently, something had to have happened, as every-time she'd ask Asuna or Klien about it, they'd skirt around the issue. _He isn't mad at me, is he? If he was, Asuna could have just told me._

"And as it turned out, on the 75th floor, we found out that He was Kayaba all along, the one responsible for us being in SAO."

AS soon as she heard the word Kayaba, Leopon's heart froze and her mind went numb. "Wait... did...did...did you say that... that Heathcliff was... Kayaba?" she asked in a tentative voice.

"Yes," Kirito confirmed, before he noticed that something was wrong with the 23 year old girl. "Wait, Leopon, is something?" He never got to finish his question.

"No... no no no no no no no! It's not fair!" Leopon cried, before bursting into tears. "It's just not fair." she sobbed. "That..." Leopon's sobs drowned out what she was saying.

At that moment, Asuna, Klien, Liz and Silica came in. "Hey guys, we are back," Liz called, before noticing a crying Leopon. "Alright, what happened?" She asked rather harshly, before kneeling by the Lioness. "Leopon, what happened?"

Seeing that she was in no condition to answer, Asuna walked up to the four at the bar. "Alright, what happened," she demanded.

Agil was the one to answer. "I don't know, Kirito was explaining to Leafa and Sinon about the KoB and everything was fine. Next thing he tells them what happened at the 75th floor, and once she heard the word Kayaba, she got really upset."

Asuna's eye's widened in realization at what had happened. "Okay, it's not your fault then since you didn't know, but it's best not to mention Kayaba around Leopon." she whispered, before kneeling down before the girl. "It's going to be okay, Leopon, everything is going to be alright."

She let out a sob before gazing up at Asuna. "We... can you tell them? For me?" Leopon stammered out.

The KOB vice commander let out a small gasp. "Are... are you sure?"

"Tell us what?" Liz asked gently.

Leopon nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, they are my friends, they'll understand... I think."

"Of course we'll understand. We are your friends, Leopon." Liz pointed out gently.

Gazing at the pink haired blacksmith, Leopon shook her head. "You might not want to be my friend after you find out my secret."

"Listen, you are a good person, Leopon, and our friend. We are not going to give up on you just because of something in your past." Liz promised.

Leopon smiled. "I'll hold you to that Liz." She then turned to Klein before letting out another sob. "Can we head to our room, I'm getting tired again." she asked.

Letting her lean on her shoulder, the two made their way up to their room, while Asuna let out a breath.

"Alright, everyone to my room, now." She then turned to Agil. "You too."

Shortly after that, Asuna let out a sigh. "Before I began, I wanted to say something. I've known the truth behind Leopon every since our days in the Knights, and according to Klien, she told him when they first met. She also told the Furinkazin before she joined, so that they wouldn't have any reservations about her joining." She paused to let that sink in.

"The truth is, when Leopon was 15, her parents died in a house fire. At the time, there wasn't anyone who would take care of her, that was until a certain someone would step into her life, and agree to look after her needs. After several months, the two had developed a father daughter relationship, so strong you'd think that he was her biological father. And his wife, although a bit distant with her, also cared for young Leopon.

"Then, Sword Art Online came out, and she was elated to be one of the first 10,000 players to get a copy. I remember her telling me how she spend her first day, the joy she felt at enjoying a virtual world. Then, the awful announcement, and reality of the death game hit."

Asuna sighed and waited a brief moment before continuing, closing her eyes. "And that was it. She's hated her father ever since."

"So you are saying that her father was Kayaba this whole time?" Agil asked, shocked. "Damn, that's gotta be harsh on the girl."

Kirito felt guilty about bring up what had happened on the 75th floor. "If... if only I'd had known," he began. "We've got another reason to beat this death game now, to give Leopon some closure."

"Like I said, I'm not going to abandon Leopon, especially not because of who her father is." Liz then fist-pumped the air, "And if I see anyone abandoning her because of this, I'm going to bash them with my mace! You can bet your sweet col on that!"

Meanwhile, Sinon was thinking to herself. _That must be pretty tough, to know that your father created the game. I imagine she had a lot of pride in his accomplishments too. That was until it turned into this death game._ Sinon then let out a mental sigh. _Maybe I should talk to her about my past._ "I agree, I can't imagine how much pain Leopon must be going through."

Leafa was quiet for a bit. "How... how can a father put her daughter through this. I mean, even if she never joined SAO the stigma would have inevitably stuck to her for... ages."

Sinon flinched slightly. "Yeah, it would," she whispered.

"Do you think Kayaba knows?" Agil asked.

Asuna shook her head. "Till she met Klein, both me and Leopon held this in confidentiality. Unless somehow Kayaba found out through some other means or knew all along, then he doesn't know."

Leopon let out a sigh as she sat on the bed, recovering from her spell. "I can't believe for five months I worked for that bastard."

Placing his hand on her shoulder gently, Klein gazed at her. "It's not healthy for you to dwell on that." he whispered.

She frowned softly . "I know, but..." She stomped when there was a knock on the door. Liz stepped in, and basically tackled-hugged Leopon. "I... I'm so sorry," she cried.

"Liz..." Leopon began, not too sure where to begin, before the others came in.

"You are our friend, Leopon. Kayaba being your father doesn't chance that," Kirito promised.

"Yeah, and if you need someone to talk to about this, we are here for you."

"I..Thank you," Leopon replied shyly, touched by their loyalty. "Thank you."

Standing there at the door, Asuna couldn't help but feel a heavy weight lift off her shoulders. _Now that they know how sensitive Leopon is about her dad, I won't have to worry about her as much, especially since they'll take care of her. And She's always got Klein, if nothing else._ However, a thought then occurred to her.

 _Wait, Yui referred to Kayaba as her creator, so does that mean that in a way Leopon is Yui's older sister? And how, if I do, am I going to break this to Yui and Leopon._ Asuna hadn't yet told Leopon how she and Kirito had met Yui and became her parents, and so that might get complicated.

 _Great, every-time you think you have one problem solved another takes it's place,_ she thought to herself.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: There isn't a whole lot for me to say about this chapter, except to note that I have updated the previous chapters to increase their content and improve spelling and grammar errors. All of the previous five chapters where updated on Agust 12** **th** **, 2016, so if you've read this story before then, it might be a good idea to reread those chapters.**

To put it bluntly, Leopon was bored. Klien didn't completely abandon her like she had feared, but his next mission would send him deep into the labyrinth, and Leopon hated heights, so she had opted to stay behind. Now, she was just walking around Ark Sophia, walking aimlessly through the streets.

She then gazed to her left and noticed that Silica was sitting down, looking kinda blue. Walking up to her, Leopon sat beside her. "What's wrong Silica?" she asked softly.

Silica glanced at her. "Oh, un... nothing really, it's just that I wish I had the chance to level up when I could have easier." she admitted.

Leopon gazed at her thoughtfully for a bit. "I might know a way, but we'll need to go to the hollow area to do so. Don't worry, we won't need to go far."

"Do you think I could handle it?" Silica asked nervously. "I...i. mean, I'm only at level 76, so,"

"You'll be fine. All I need you to do is party up with me and occasionally heal me with a potion on occasion after the fight."

"What about using Pina?"

"Actually, that might be a good idea, though I wouldn't use her every fight, just in case we need her healing powers later on."

Silica stood up. "Okay then, let's party up,"

Smiling, Leopon accepted the party request, and the two quickly did their shopping and found themselves in the administrator room.

"Hey, Philia," Leopon called, and Silica shrank as the orange player walked up to her. "It's okay Silica, Philia's red cursor wasn't cause due to her killing another player."

"Then what caused it?" Silica asked softly.

"We... we don't know. All we do know is that she was attacked by something that looked exactly like her."

"You sure it wasn't a someone?" Philia asked.

"I've said it before, it was defiantly a something." Leopon argued before turning to Silica. "Oh, Silica, this is Philia, an old friend of mine and a treasure hunter. Philia, this is Silica, also a friend of mine and a beast tamer."

"Nice to meet you, Silica," Philia smiled gently."

"Um... nice to meet you too, Philia."

"So your taking her to the hollow area to train, right?" Philia asked, and then offered to go with them after Leopon confirmed her suspicion. "Oh, by the way, here you go Philia," Leopon began, before opining a gift box and giving her some anti-ailment and healing crystals.

"Thanks Leopon, you've been so good to me," Philia whispered.

"That's what friends are for, we help each other." Leopon beamed, before adding Philia to the party. The trio soon found themselves in the hollow area.

"Hey, Leopon, wanna solo a group together?" Philia asked. Leopon gave a small nod before turning to her younger friend. "Stand on that rock and let us know of something or someone comes in behind us, alright?"

The young pigtailed girl gave a tentative nod and clambered up, Pina watching the two other swords women carefully. "Okay, I'm watching," Silica called.

Nodding together, the dagger and sword user charged head-long into the group of skeleton mobs, hacking them to pieces in no time with their swords skills. Slash, then parry, followed by a sword skill, then another parry. Silica couldn't help but feel both fearful and astonished at how well the two friends fought together, and she couldn't help but wonder if they where friends in real life as she kept casting glances at the two , oddly calmed by their fighting prowess.

After a few moments, Leopon and Philia where sitting beside her on the rock, taking a small break. "So, what do you think," Leopon asked as Silica was staring at her EXP.

"60,000 EXP?" she whispered, before almost revealing her level. _From level 76 to 84 in four minuets._ She asked herself. "You two are amazing," she breathed.

Leopon smiled, before patting Silica on the back. "Well, maybe, but so will you be, in time."

"Me?" Silica squeaked, not believing that the Lioness could be talking about her.

"Yep! We're going to train you, if you'd like." Philia smiled gently.

"Oh, that would be wonderful! Thank you!"

Monster after monster fell between the three warriors, their blade and daggers carving a path across the room. However, as they where just finishing an enemy off, Philia suddenly grabbed Silica and tackled her down to the grown between some rocks. "Ssh, coffins," she whispered. Looking at leopon, she took some brief comfort in her nod before realizing what that meant. "Wai" She began before Phililla covered her mouth.

"We have to be quiet, let Leopon handle this," Phililla mummured, and Silica gave a tense nod. Watching quietly, she gasped when Leopon rushed at the cloaked Pk'ers, quickly dispatching them before they knew what hit them. However, after the last ones fell, she looked shocked. Running up to her friend, Silica shook her hand.

"Yo...you going to be okay Leo...:eopon?" she asked, her voice trembling as her best friend committed murder, granted against player killers.

"Those...those where AI," she whispered softly, before turning to Philia. "I thought the one you killed had a familiar movement pattern." she added more contently.

"Wait... So those...where not real people?" Silica asked.

"And I didn't really kill someone in the real world?" Philia asked hopefully.

Leopon nodded. "In both occasions that would be right. Still, if they are AI around here... wait, the control panel! I think father taught me something in case I entered SAO later on."

"He knew you'd enter?" Silica asked.

Philia shook her head. "I don't think he intended for us to know this if SAO was a normal game. But now that I think about it... he did taught us some weird things, didn't he? Like death in SAO wasn't as forgiving as it first seemed, every player needed to be at least ten levels or so above the floor boss, plus an extra 12 per 25 floors, and other stuff. I...I think he was telling me and Leopon that in case we ever got trapped in SAO, even though he never wanted us to even play the game." Turning to Leopon, she nodded. "Wanna try it Cousin?"

Leopon nodded. "It won't take your orange status away but we can get you out of here if it works." she informed, before turning toward the exit. "Come on, it's best we get outta here." she added.

After arriving safely back at the control room, they sat down. "Wait, before we do this we need to decide what to do, because the guardian is going to come after Philia as soon as she enters the town," Leopon began.

"Hm... well, the only thing to do is to escape or let the guardian catch me," Philla muttered. "Jail doesn't seem as bad as this place... I mean it's safer... but,"

"You don't really want to go to jail, do you?" Leopon asked worriedly.

Philiia shrugged. "If you promised to visit me, I'd manage."

Leopon shook her head violently, Silica having to duck out of the way to avoid getting hit. "Not an option, as the prison isn't located on the floors we've unlocked unless you go below level 75, which we can't go back to. Now if we had a prison in a higher level, we could exit the town and then set a telliport crystal to send you there... but I'd rather not have my cousin in jail."

Philia sighed. "I figured you'd say that, but it's not much of an option unless we try to solve this another way, and I'm not sure we can afford to wait that long. Either I risk being in the field and getting killed, I stay here and get killed, or I go to jail." Turning to Leopon, she let out a laugh. "Seriously though, I'd rather not risk getting killed, so... how about we do this, we can exit now and then decide later on what we want to do, okay?"

Glancing sadly at her cousin, Leopon gave a sigh. "Well, alright, we can try this, and... and see how it goes. Just be ready to run when we get out there."

Silica glanced at Philia for a moment. "Are you sure you are going to be alright?"

Philia nodded to her. "I''ll be fine, don't worry,"

Leopon didn't think her cousin would be fine for a moment, but she didn't argue. "Well, let's do this." she replied, before activating the control panel. "Force teliport player out of the hollow zone?" A menu popped up.

Typing in her cousin's name and reluctantly selecting yes, she watched her best friend disappear out of the room. "Good luck cousin." she sighed, before turning to Silica. "Let's head on out of here, I want to be sure she made it out."

"I understand Leopon... you really care for your cousin, don't you?" Silica observed as they began to teliport.

"Yeah, I do."

It didn't take long to find her cousin, apparently she had found a quest that let her stay with a farmer NPC, and so Silica and Leopon joined up with her. Finding the dragon, they teamed up, Leopon beginning with a vertical. "Switch with me Silica!"

"Oh...okay!" Silica called before using a sword skill, shaving a sizable chuck of the Beastly dragon's HP. "Sw...Switch!"

"You got it!" Philia called, before initiating her own attack. Once it got into the red, they let Philiia take over, as the quest would only let one player have a room at the cabin, and that was whomever got the last attack bonus. Smiling after the boss shattered into a million shards, she gazed at Leopon and Silica.

"Thank...thank you," she replied before glancing at the last attack drop, a key.

"It's no problem," Silica purred as they followed her to the cabin. "Did you defete the boss?" He asked.

"Yes I did," Philia replied before handing him the key.

"Hm... as I promised you may stay with me in this room, but only one of you can live there. I don't mind an occasional sleepover but not having a roommate." he informed them, and a question popped up. Silica and Leopon quickly voted for Philia to have the room, and she accepted.

"Hm... so you will be staying with me, eh?" he then chuckled. "Well then, here is your plow and seeds. Although you may stay with me you must help me with the farm, alright?"

Philla gave him a smile. "Sure, I'll be glad to help!" she promesed excitedly, before heading to the fields. Leopon and Silica offered to help her, but she waved them off. "You two look exausted." She had said, before looking expantly at leopon, who was beginning to sway. "You need to get back to town," she informed her.

"Uh... I'm not sure I can make it," she panted, before the NPC Farmer walked up. "She can stay the night with you if you wish, but I'd prefer sleepovers to be occasional, as my cabin isn't really all that big."

"That's fine, thank you for letting my cousin stay the night." Philia smiled, before glancing at Leopon. "Can you make it to the room?"

Leopon nodded. "Yeah, I can make it that far." She promised, before heading down the path. She nearly squeaked as the farmer NPC held her for a moment. "You where about to fall young lady, allow me to help you.

"Thank...thank you," Leopom whispered, by the time she archived in the bed she was nearly asleep. Silica had helped her into the room. "Your right, this cabin isn't really suited for much company," she remarked.

The farmer sighed. "Yes, my previous work-hand of 30 years died at the hands of that dragon. Still, this Philia seems like a good kid, so she's more than welcome to stay here as long as she works." he remarked.

Silica smiled at him before turning to Leopon. "You want me to leave Klien a message that you are staying here the night?" she asked.

Nodding, Leopon began to speak, but then began snoring lightly. _My gosh, she's asleep sitting up? Her medical condition must be pretty serious at times._ She then let herself out of the house and made her way back to town, eager to deliver her friends message.


	7. Chapter 7

**I'd like to thank everyone for their time, all those who favorite, followed, and reviewed this story. A special shout out goes to FailtasticBelt, thank you for your kind words and pointing out those spelling errors in chapter one.**

 **The original idea for Leopon actually came up during my first attempted playthrough on Sword Art Online Hollow Fragment, (Which I still need to finish) and when I decided to write a story, I kinda wanted to include romance but without involving Kirito. Making Leopon the same age as Klien was the easiest way to do this since Leopon was going to be the MC anyways.**

 **Her being Kayaba's daughter came about a month before the first chapter came out, I had a five chapter proto-story before switching to this concept as having someone who solo-killed 36 Laughing Coffin members began to feel rather... overpowered to me. Sadly, I had no idea that Rinko even existed at the time, and only came to learn about her existence last November. I might be able to add her in but... let's just say it won't be a good ending for her.**

 **Anyways, here's the next chapter, Enjoy! Thanks again for all you who supported this story, and if you have something to say, feel free to tell me in a review if you'd like.**

Sunlight fluttered down the window, though the two girls sharing the room didn't seem to mind. It was the first time they could spend the night in a same room for ages, and they where content. Their relationship had grown quite a bit during the course of SAO, despite the pain in the realization of what their father and distant uncle had done.

That was until a certain aloof Samurai burst the door down. "Leopon, Phililla, guess what I manage to get!" He exclaimed excitedly. Pililla looked slightly annoyed, but Leopon gave him a small smile. "What is it hun," she asked, slipping into her slippers and walking up to him, striding rather confidently in her light orange undies.

"You ever heard of putting on a night coat sis?" Plilila muttered, slightly off-put with how her cousin seemed so at ease with the Furinkazin leader. At least she didn't have to worry about them coming on to her, namely because for one, she was grossly underage in comparison, they didn't want to upset Leopon, and if anyone of them where foolish enough to incur Leopon's wrath, or upset her, their leader would be right there supporting her. A Samurai with an expert fencer made a deadly combination.

"Check this out!" Klien smiled, before opening his menu, revealing to her an S class flying buffalo meat.

Leopon just stared at the ingredient, dumbfounded, before glancing up at him. "Klien, either you are going to find a maxed out cook and share this with me or take me on a really good date or two," she threatened playfully.

"Oh come on, I'm sure we can find someone," he said, lacing his hands smoothly around her back, causing Leopon to give out something like a purr. Phililla grunted, but was ignored. _My gosh, have you two never heard of a private suite? Still, an S class meal does sound good,_ she notioned. "Don't tell me that you two aren't going to share with the rest of us as well?" she cautioned.

"Of course! We'll invite Kazuto and his friends as well," Klien declared, much to Leopon's slight disgust. It wasn't that she disliked him or his friends, quite the opposite. But, rather it was how all the girls, even Phillia, where trying to get a piece of Kazuto. However, Leopon smiled at Klein, keeping her feelings to herself. "Alright, but let's show this to Agil and Asuna first before we do anything. They might let us use their place and skills," she permitted.

Arriving at the inn, Klien got everyone's attention, and he opened his menu to show off his loot. Leopon listened to the admiring comments, and suddenly a feeling of pride came over her. Even if she didn't help him get it, this was her boyfriend. He'd done something not too many people could claim to have done, that getting an S class ingredient. Something about that just made her feel warm and fuzzy.

"Well, I don't mind using my shop as the venue, provided the chief doesn't mind doing the cooking. After a few quick arrangements, everything was all set. "I'll round up the rest of the Furinkazin," she offered.

"Yeah, it's only fair they get to join in as well." Agil remarked before turning to Kirito. "You could sit with Klien and hear his story. He is the star of the show today after all."

At first Leopon didn't think too much about what Agil had said to Kirito. But as she traveled to the place where she'd meet up with the other members, her mind began to wonder. _Would Kirito try and steal the show from Klien?_ Somehow, she doubted it, at least that he would on purpose. But with the way the girls are, that just might end up happening.

"Hey guys, you all ready?" they coursed their approval and she lead them to the inn, and abruptly stopped, simultaneous taking a whiff before bursting into laughter the antic. "Oh man, I can't believe we did it at the same time," Dale chuckled.

"Now you all eat up! There's plenty," Klien was telling everyone." This brought smiles on everyone faces. However Kirito decided to pipe up. "You are joining in too, right Klien.?

"Yes, he is," Leopon answered abruptly, before her boyfriend could refuse, knowing exactly what would happen if he didn't join in. She also knew he was likely to say something stupid, such as he'll take the left overs, and between not getting fat in SAO due to overcharging and the sheer amount of food someone could eat at one time, compounded by the amount of people present, he would likely not get anything at all.

"But Le..." The Lioness glared at Klien, before pulling him into the hallway, having the other hold for a brief moment. "I know you're trying to be kind, but if it had been me cooking this meal and you said you where going to eat last, I might get the impression you didn't like my cooking," she whispered seriously.

Klien gulped. "Have I offended Asuna?" he whispered worriedly.

Leopon shook her head. "Not yet but you will if you keep refusing," she warned. She then smiled. "Now come on, let's get us some of that Buffalo you worked so hard to get, alright?"

She smiled as she got herself some soup and a pork stake. While it was true she was well aware of the food mechanics in SAO, she still acted like the food could make her fat, despite the contrary. That's not to say she didn't eat a lot, but she did eat marginally less than most.

Towards the end of the meal, everyone decided it would be a good idea to reveal a secrete about themselves. Leopon stood up and smiled. "This Philla and Klien already know, but I'm half Australian." she admitted.

Some people gasped in shock, but a couple of oh's erupted from the guess, as if they finally discovered where her eye and hair color came from. "Can you speak like an Australian?" Silica asked. Leopon smiled at her. "Hello, my name is Leopon, it is very nice to meet you all," she spoke not only in perfect English, but in a perfect Australian accent.

"Wow!" Asuna gasped, her eyes sparkling in astonishment. "I had no idea, your Japanese is so perfect." she added, amazed. Leopon chuckled. "My mother wanted to make sure I got as close to the Japanese dialect as I could, so I would work on it for hours every day." She admitted.

"I remember that, too," Leafa admitted, taking a bite of her stake. "I use to practice with you, remember?"

Chuckling, Leopon nodded. "That I do Leafa. It was a lot of work, but we managed to pull it off."

The rest of the meal went off without a hitch, and Leopon began to help with the dishes, despite Asuna telling her that she could manage. As she was washing them, she over heard Strea. "I bet Klien would have saved all that meat for himself back in the day, Kirito coming into his life has had a good influence on him."

Leopon glanced up, then down at the place she was washing, almost thinking about throwing it at the lilac haired girl. _How dare she! Klien is a kind and caring person. Yes, sure there might have been a time when he would hoard the meat, but Strea clearly meant more recently._

However, as she grabbed another dish, her eyebrows softened. _But what if she's insinuating that I'm not a good influence in his life?_ Before she could contemplate this thought much, she felt Agil tap her shoulder gently. "Don't pay much attention to Strea on that, she just Kirito-gushing at the moment."

Leopon almost laughed at his choice of words, save she was still doubtful. "Okay," she replied, but didn't take her focus off of cleaning her dishes for a while, before glancing up. "Agil?"

"Yes?"

"Why is it that so many of the girls act like Kirito is fair game, even though he's happy with Asuna?" She asked.

"I guess it's because they are still young and growing up." He then glanced at her. "Don't be too harsh on them Leopon, they are still young. And Asuna can pretty much handle herself, I'm sure."

Leopon sighed. "I guess you're right. Still, I swear if he hurts Asuna, I'm going to have some very choice words for him." She smiled as she finished the last dish, before sitting down. "I forgot how easy it is for me to get tired." she admitted, before noticing how Klien, though very gently, carried her to Asuna's bed.

Leopon woke up later that evening, wondering briefly why she was there before remembering what happened. At once her anger toward Strea flared up, and only increased as she realized how many people where after Kirito. "I'll... show... them..." she growled, causing Asuna to flinch. "Leopon, are you okay?"

But the Lionness didn't stir, or even glance at her. She simply equipped her Rapair and shoved her way out of the inn. She didn't notice Asuna sending a message to Phillia, Kirito and Klien.

Following Her, Asuna was wondering what was going through her firend's mind that made her so angry. "She's usually not like this," Asuna whispered, keeping the girl in her sight but keeping out of her sight.

As time went on, Leopon began ranking up kill after kill after kill. Asuna shared a bewildered glance with Klien. "I thought she got tired easy," Asuna whispered. Klien gave a small shrug. "She has more energy when she's mad. But what made her mad in the first place?"

Suddenly the Lionness turned, spotting the the four. Sheathing her sword, she marched over to them before sighing. "Thanks, for making sure I'm okay," she muttered. "I'm just frustrated is all."

"Frustrated, about what?" Asuna asked.

"My tiredness." _And the fact that your so called friends are trying to steal your guy._ And with that she began to unsheathe her sword, only stopping when Klien grabbed her hand.

"Relax Leopon, you'll feel better after a good nights sleep. If you want, we can raid the labyrinth tomorrow, just you and me."

Leopon sighed. "Asuna, you're coming with me. Bring no one else." she conditioned before allowing herself to be herded back to the guild HQ.


	8. Chapter 8

Leopon rising chapter nine

 **A quick note:**

 **You may have noticed that the event list events are not in the exact order as they appear in the games. There's a couple of reasons, but the biggest is Leopon, actual. Because of her activities with the gang, some events will happen later, or sooner, and some won't be happening at all. Of course, certain events which require a specif floor to be cleared to be eligible to be cleared at all, those events can only be cleared once said floor is cleared. Such as the missing marriage status quest, that won't appear until the proper floor have been clear. But other events, such as the S5 Flying Buffalo meat event and the like can be done at anytime.**

 **Quick spoiler alert, the Pizza events will each have an additional spicy slice, so floor 80 will have two slices instead of one and floor 90 will have three slices instead of two.**

 **Now, enough of my rambling, on with the story!**

Leopon smiled as she, Sinon, and Asuna finished up their last fetch quest in a series of quest. Although these quest in and of themselves where nothing for the Flash and Lionness, it would give Sinon some valuable in game experience. "Whew! I'm beat," Leopon sighed. "Let's get back to down and buy a few drinks."

Asuna glanced at her funny. "I didn't know you started drinking Alcohol, Leopon," she commented. The Lionness just responded by shacking her head.

Sinon smiled lightly. "Thank you for training with me."

"Oh, it wasn't all that much trouble Sinon," Leopon admitted. "But it was fun."

 **Meanwhile, at the cafe...**

"Eh! Silica, is this really necessary?"

"Yes, the only way to ensure that you don't fall into a terrible fate."

"God help me," Kirito muttered.

 **Half hour later:**

The Lionness halted when she heard an odd commotion going on, and peered through the shop window. "Oh boy, this isn't good." whispered, before motioning to Asuna and Sinon to remain outside.  
Asuna, you have two Kob members using a room for a meeting, right?"

She nodded, before messaging them. "They're all yours, Leopon," she replied, though her face looked puzzled. "What exactly are we doing anyways."

"Let's just say I'm fixing a problem." she soothed, before sending a brief message. "Alright, when they arrive, I'll tell you what to do. Just follow my steps, alright?"

Both Asuna and Sinon looked puzzled, but they nodded in consent. "I hope you know what you are doing, Leopon," Asuna whispered.

Sinon marched in, as per Leopon's instructions. _Just deal with it the way I'd usually do.._. "gah!" Her train of thought was interrupted by the sight of Kirito under a mass of... girls? She let out a small sigh. "I think I'm in the wrong shop," she deadpanned softly, folding her arms.

"Wait, Sinon, I...I can explain," Kirito begged.

She raised her eyebrow questioningly.

"See... there was this fortuneteller, and he said..." He began to ramble on and on about how he supposedly had to have a girl glued to his side and that otherwise a grave misfortune would fall on him. Silica joined in, claiming he was out with her when it happened and that she was the one who insisted on clinging to his side first, followed by Liz, Leafa, and Philila.

"Was it the fortuneteller across the street?" Sinon asked, causing Kirito to nod. "The guys a fraud. He tells misfortune in the hopes that someone will buy his trinkets." Ignoring the shocked gasp, she gave a wicked smile as Leopon give her the signal. "How about I tell you a fortune? I could do much better than that guy I'm sure."

"Well... okay," Kirito permitted. Sinon smiled at his apparent discomfort. "So... very soon... a grave misfortune will befall Kirito." At that moment Asuna walked in, and the room got very silent. "Hey, Sinon, have you seen Kirito," she asked.

Sinon frowned. "Your husband is under those mass of girls," she deadpanned.

"Mass of girls?" She questioned,

"Oh... hi... Asuna," Kirito replied weakly, knowing full well he was caught. Asuna just glared at him before sighing. "Kirito,"

"Oh... look at the time, I've got to fulfill some orders," Liz rushed to get out, before heading to the door. Sinon smiled as she just now realized what Leopon had in mind. _Really Leopon, yo... you are something else,_ she acknowledged silently.

"And just where do you think you are going?" Leopon's roared words filled the room with dread. This was Leopon, renowned for her temper, and her lion-like ferocity. True, she was also know for her kindness to those in need but everyone knew better than to tick her off.

This included Lizbeth, who backed away as two of Leopon's fellow guild members marched in, their hands on their sword hilts. Looking for an alternate escape route, Liz eyed the stairway for a brief moment, before realizing that two KoB members where blocking the stairwell. She soon joined the other trembling girls. Even Asuna, as she glared daggers at her husband, seemed frightened by her.

"All girls who where on top of Prettytoe, form up," she hollered, pointing to Kirito as she said the word "Prettytoe."

Silica whimpered. "What... what should we...we...we do?" She looked on the verge of tears. As did Leafa, knowing full well how the act of pissing of the Lionness usually ended. And right now Leopon was royally pissed. It was Phillia who spoke up. "We really should do what she says, We don't want to make her any more mad than she already is" she admitted, forming up at the front of the starting line. The other girls followed suit.

"Liz... you are running a weapons shop. You really can't be trying to steal the husband of the KoB vice commander." she warned, dangerously.

"But I wasn't trying to steal hi..." She paused, covering her mouth when Leopon half drew out her Rapier.

"Don't try me woman," Leopon growled, and instantly Liz knew she had made a terrible mistake in defending herself. Agil looked terrified, as did everyone else around her.

"And stay your tongue, unless I give you leave to use it," she growled, before sighing "I'll put it simply," she offered, "If people found you you where having an affair with the vice commander's husband, it'd ruin your store's reputation."

Lizbeth looked down in consent, and Leopon let out a small huff before going over to Phillia. "Cousin, I expected so much better out of you," she sighed. "Just don't... don't even talk to me for a day or so." Phillia felt a tear move down her cheek. _I... I've really disappointed her. But I think she's forgiven me, though it'll take a bit before we are on talking terms._

Leopon then moved onto Silica, who swiftly got on her knees. "Leopon, I...I'm so sorry! I was the one who started this whole affair, please forgive me!" She pleaded loudly. Leopon just looked at her, before unsheathing her Rapier just enough to make a sound. As Silica flinched, Leopon growled at her. "You're not a kid anymore, Silica. Grow up!" She then sighed. "But you are young, so I'll forgive you here and now, this time. But no more of this silly antics, got it?"

"Thank... thank you Leo...Leopon. Lesion learned loud an...and clear." Giving her a faint smile, she moved on to Leafa, frowning as she came up to her. "I didn't know you where into that kind of relationship, but I won't judge you biased on that." she began dangerously.

"Leopon, I'm not into him," She admitted quietly. "no... not like that anyways."

Leopon smiled. "Then I take you understand what you did was wrong?"

"Yes... I understand," she admitted bowing her head.

"Good." Patting her friend's head, she then hugged her. "Listen Sughua, there's a lot of guys out there, and you are a beautiful girl, both here and the real world. Not just in looks, but personality as well. So you don't have to go after your brother, okay?"

"Your right Lyra. I'll make it up to Onichan and Asuna." she whispered, "And find a guy to call my own if I really want that,"

"Good," Leopon smiled, before pulling back. "Now, I'm going to the base to get some rest. And I hope you all learned a valuable lessen here today."

No one spoke in her wake for at least a good fifteen minuets. Kirito was the first to speak. Is she always like that?"

Asuna shook her head. "No, only when she's royally ticked, and she takes her relationships very seriously."

"Asuna, I'm very sorry, this whole thing was all my fault. Can you forgive me?" Silica began, her apology echoed by the other girls.

Asuna gave them a smile. "Sure." However, she turned to Kirito. "You on the other hand owe me big time," she growled

"How is this my fault?" He demanded, however, he paused when Asuna raised her eyebrow. "Oh... Sorry Asuna, I'll make it up to you I promise.

"Alright, but it better be good," She warned.

Sinon gave a slight frown. _I didn't realize that she could get so angry. Still, if this is how she fights for her friends, then I definitely want her in my corner._ She paused her train of thought before continuing. _As long as I'm not the one making her mad that is._

 **Real world**

Acer glanced over the data sheets. "So far nothing has changed save that Leopon seems to have a few new friends, and that Asuna's mother has arranged for her to be with that creep Noboyukki, dispute what Asuna's diary has clearly shown."

"That is correct. Also we are still trying to figure out why only 300 SAO survivors woke up, What we do know is that the others are safe for the time being."

Acer let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. Still, let's make certain CSOADA stays on top of the Asuna situation. If Noboyukki does anything remotely similar to what Asuna wrote in her diaries, her bother is to assume complete and sole custody over her while she recovers and graduates from school."

"That will be done, sir." Acer watched as the nurse walked out, before taking out a picture of him, his family, and the Lionness setting together in front of a cave. "I'm sorry Leopon. There isn't much else we can do except keep on fighting." he whispered, before a knock erupted from the door.

"Sir, here are the papers you requested." she replied, placing the stack on his desk, before bowing and exiting the room. "The Konno siblings are coming along nicely," he mused, before taking the first of the papers off the desk. "Nuerolinkers again, huh? Damn people, no matter how much I warn about that piece of technology, they just keep trying to ramrod their way through."

Though, just like with the Asuna situation, he feared that this warning about the Nuerolinker project would eventually be lost to the wind. _Maybe people need another Sword Art Online incident to be reminded of the dangers of using technology this far. It's not like they even remember this one anymore. Damn, just like the other Earth._

 **Welp, another chapter done. I'd like to thank all of you who have read, favorites, followed, and review this story. And a special thank you to FailtasticBelt for his constant support is an order.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter nine is out! I'd like to think all my readers and especially my reviewers out there, thank you so much! Your support means a lot to me.**

 **Whelp on with the story... wait. A quick disclaimer, this story holds a bit more gore than my other chapters. I'll explain a few things at the end of the chapter.**

Her eyes fluttered open as a strange sensation filled her nerves, causing a faint smile as she realized her fiancee was holding her forearm gently. As he noticed that he was waking up, his green eyes brightened and a light smile crept up on his face. "My arm," he whispered teasingly, pulling it gingerly to him.

"No, that's my arm!" She protested meekly, before smiling at him indulgently. "But... you can hold my hand if you promise to be gentle," she added, her brown eyes shining with happiness.

He smiled, letting go of her forearm and entwining his fingers with hers as they stayed in the bed, enjoying each others company. "I wish we could stay like this all day," she sighed longingly, remembering back when they where in sword art online they could take almost any day off they wanted provided they didn't neglect their grinding.

"Well... I'm suppose to get a report from miss Kirigyra and Asada today, so if everything goes well... how about I take tomorrow off." He suggested.

She smiled even more, before glancing up. "Aacob's been wanting to visit her friend's house again, so maybe we could see if she wanted to go for a sleepover?" she suggested.

His eyes widened. "We're not going to try it now are we?" he gasped.

She shook her head. "It's not you, it's just that I'm still to weak physically to have a guy on me, even if he's only 140 pounds at the moment." She sighed wistfully. "Though I do want to, and not just because mother won't let us get married until we do," she added. The act she had been referring to had been number ten on her bucket list, however due to her missing left arm she never thought she'd find the guy who was right for her. And now that she had, she was being forced to wait.

He proceeded to twisted over and gingerly wiped a tear from her face. "Hey, don't worry, we'll get to that point later," he smiled."

"Promise?" She asked, her eyes hopeful.

"Promise," he added sincerely. Smiling, she closed her eyes and fell back asleep. _I couldn't have asked for a better help meet,_ Acer thought as his mind flew back to how he'd managed to free himself and his family from the game early.

 **Seven months ago**

"Go go go!" He glanced at his timer, the ten minuet countdown blaring in his sight. Rushing at the floating stone panel, he let out a war cry, startling the Laughing Coffin members who where on guard.

One of them sent a message, presumably to his fellow guild mates, before joining the rest of his squad. Acer let out a grunt before charging in on his own, his Legionary's shield blaring in front of him.

Hitting a knife wielding killer with his Sonic Shield , an advanced stun skill for those with the offensive shield unique skill, he sent the assassin straight over the edge, to his death. Smiling at the thought of one less murderer in the world, he jabbed at the next guy, the strikes from his gladius rivaling the speed from the rapier strikes of the Flash.

Unbidden, his mind flew back to when he was back on his old world, to a mission he and his adopted mom and dad where on. Fifteen of his group had been dispatched to rescues the girlfriend of a suspected farmer. However half way through that mission, it turned out the farmer was just the bait of some street gang, and though his group ultimately remained victorious, it had cost him seven of the group.

None the less, once the group arrived at the building it was already too late. Acer remembered the scent to this very day as he opened the doors to the hanger warehouse, his hands clasping over his nose at the scent. Five girls where hanging suspended from the ceiling.

The main rope was tied around their hands, arms, feet, and legs, which would have made the torture session all the more horrible. The rope had cut through the girl's skin, leaving pools of rotting flesh and blood around the floors. Their faces still held the look of a silent scream, mixed with horror and agony in equal measure.

His team attempted to cut the girl's down so as to give them the proper burial they deserved, but by that time it was too late, their bodies must have been tied up like that for at least half a month or so, maybe more. Burying them was impossible, so they just burned down the building. He would always remember the somber look on his teammate's faces during that moment.

Th _ese murderers are no better than that group,_ he swore to himself as he preformed a back flip, dodging a spear user before slamming his shield down forcefully, his gut twisting for the first time as he heard the combatant scream in agony. However, the Roman Instructor was used to such battles, having to deal with the impossible since he was ten back in his old world.

He was once again thrown back into the past. His memories now place a rather disturbing scene from what was suppose to be from a movie, but ended up happening in real life. Arriving at a warehouse, he decided to sneak ion a bit to see what they where dealing with.

Unforgettably, it would become his worst nightmare. Peering in at an over-walk, he had shut his eyes as he saw a teenage girl, tied up to a crane. Her screams filled the building, as the crane dropped her onto a conveyor belt. He could only watch as her screams for mercy went unheard, only to stop in a loud shrill as her face was crushed in a compactor, followed with the rest of her body.

He shuddered mentally as he could remember seeing her mangled body come out, the images of her hair still clinging to a portion of her skull clinging was the most potent memory in his mind, and sometimes he would have nightmares about one of his friends being the one crushed in that crusher machine.

Shards shattered as he jabbed his sword into the cloaked one, before he glanced at his timer. "Six minutes," he mummered, before charging back into the fray. "Nine more to go," he added breathlessly, before taking on the next member.

 _There are times when I think that I wish I could make these Coffin members scream like that, to make these bastards feel the pain they've caused everyone here. But... that would make me just as bad as those back on the old planet,_ he mused silently. He could condone killing murderers, but not torturing them.

"Thirty seconds," He whispered, before finally managing to take out the last member. Sighing, he slumped down, before feeling a slightly weird sensation as his body flashed.

Looking around, he could see the floor below him. Standing right beside him was the creator of the game himself, Kayaba. "You've performed well, Acer. Now let us see how well the assault teams handle this. They'll be here in five minuets, so if there's anything else you need to do, do it now."

He glanced at Kayaba hopefully. "Are you sure you can't log Leopon out along with us?" he asked, hoping he would change his mind.

Kayaba shook his head. "No, that is something I can not do. If I did that, then people would come after her for having an unfair advantage. Believe me, though. I do care for my daughter, and would have loved to have logged her out now," He explained before sighing. "However, I will permit you to pass on your unique skill to her, if you wish."

Acer nodded, quickly performing the transfer before gazing out at the arena.

"Remember, the red samurai is mine," He grunted, before raising his Katana in the air, signaling the counter charge. He smiled as the Assault team was completely unawares, before homing in on his target. "When I get back to the real world, I'll be killing my wife and daughter, but for now..." he mused, before aiming right for the red samurai.

Rising his sword, he began with a basic slash. But the skilled samurai dodged, just like the man assumed he would. _Acer as taught you well, Klien,_ he mused, following up his slash with a horizontal, his blade work being countered by a vertical from his opponent.

Dodging his attacks while on the edge of the plain, he managed to knock the samurai off the edge, leaving the red haired player dangling by his hand. _No!, I can't kill him like this_ , he thought, before grasping his opponent's hand, and flinging him over the edge to safety. However, this was not a show of mercy, as Klien would find out.

"Why?" Klien demanded, "Why would you save me like that?" He asked. Unfortunately for Klien that mistake would have been his last, had a purple haired girl not pushed him out of the way. Turning, he quickly sliced at her, managing to slice off her left forearm in the process.

"Yolko, get out of here," A female screeched, prompting the girl to take a teleport crystal out and warp out with nanoseconds to spare as his blade zoomed over where her right arm had been in the air. "I'm going after you later, Yolko," He growled, before turning his attention back to Klien, who at this point was charging at him.

He attempted to dodge Klien's attack, but it was too late.

As Klien dug into the LC member, his rage threatened to take hold of him. _That bastard nearly killed Yolko,_ he thought to himself, only just remembering Acer's advice to avoid letting anger overtake him in battle. He took a deep breath as the murderer recoiled from his strike, his health in the red.

However before he could strike, the enemy held his hand up, before taking off his masked leather helmet. Amber eyes shone with utter disbelief as he gazed at the man, betrayal aching in his heart.

 _Father? What the hell is he doing in this game, much less a member of Laughing Coffins?_ As he was dumb founded, his father gave a hearty laugh.

"Well well son, you've done well, though you where more sloppy than I expected considering the youngest super veteran trained you," He chided.

"Father... how... how could you?" Klien asked, his voice shaking almost as much as his sword. All he got was a small smile and a quick charge. Klien realized all to late that he had let his guard down, and that he had no time to react. He bowed his head, unable to go on.

"Klank!" Opening his eyes, Klien gasped in astonishment as his father's Katana lay slanted against a cross shield similar to the one held by commander Heathcliff. The wielder of this blue shield had blond hair which reached nearly to her waist, and as she opened her eyes, they expressed a light blue-gray color.

"Now is not the time for self pity," she ranted, before striking at his father. He was still stunned at her choice of weapon, a rapier along with a heavy shield. However her strikes where true, incredibly swift dispute the heavier than normal load out for a rapier user. None the less he joined in, and the two where able to make quick work of the traitor.

However, they where not done yet. Klein engaged with member after member, the blond fighting along side him. As their numbers dwindled, many laughing coffin members began to back off, though there where certainly plenty of fanatics. A scream interrupted his thoughts and he glanced over to see an assassination about to take out his companion.

"Stay away from her!" He shouted, knocking him backwards, before handing her a teleport crystal. "Get out of here," he told her.

She gratefully took it with her remaining good arm, as her other had been cut off during the attack, pausing to give him a look of gratitude and relief. "I won't forget you," she whispered before vanishing in a blue light as she successfully teleported out of the blood-bath.

It was over in a few moments. With a heavy heart he walked up to Dale. "Can you handle the debriefing... I... I think one of the coffins who died was my father." He admitted.

Dale padded his back sympathetically. "Of course boss, just remember to come back, we need you." He whispered Klien understood the implications. "Don't worry, I'll be back, I just... need some time to clear my head.

Acer couldn't stop staring at Klien through the whole match. "Poor guy, finding out his father was one of the bad guys and then having to face him in a life or death struggle." However, before he could say anything else, his body enveloped into a blue light.

Leopon found herself resting in Asuna's place. After the battle, she had tried to contact Acer, but had no luck. She had then tried to contact Ksachi and Aacob, but no luck either. Asuna held up a cup of water for her to drink, and the exhausted knight gratefully gulped down the whole cup.

"Leopon... I think... Somehow I think they may have logged out," Asuna admitted quietly. Leopon nodded in agreement. _I suspected it, really. Blaze and Ksachi are just to careful to have been killed and the fact that their status in the monument say offline yet their names are not crossed out seems to prove that. But I'd like to know how they did it._

Sighing, the blond knight feel asleep, her mind too tired to continue anymore coherent thoughts.

 **Well, like I said, I'll be explaining a few things. But first, the latest reviews.**

 **FailtasticBelt: I greatly appreciate your review, and those pointers you've given me. As for the Harem... they'll still be those moments, though with Leopon it's going to get interesting. Especially when she starts confronting Kirito about it later on in the story.**

 **Thunderwolf7226: I thank you for your encouragement, it means a lot to me. As for the other Earth, basically, it's kinda like a parallel Earth, but one where everything goes humanly wrong in society, making the worst of the situation. The method he used to travel is to the SAO world is... complicated, but it's somewhat similar to the Autobot's ground-bridge in Transformers Armada, except it's used to travel long distances in space instead of just on the Earth, low Earth orbit, and possibly the moon.**

 **Themasternat: Thank you for your review! Don't worry, the next few chapters will be out pretty quickly, expect the next one by the 26th of this month.**

 **Now, for said explanations.**

 **For starters... Kayaba allowing three players to log out. I'm not going to list all the reasons here because they are explained as the story goes on and we'd be here for an hour. However, there's three parts to it, one being the information Acer knew, his and Sachi's medical conditions and finally the service Acer did for the SAO players. However, Acer is going to have a very large role in future chapters, particularly in chapter 11. This is also where Acer explains his relation with Kayaba.**

 **His memories of the girls getting killed are flashbacks of the war as he called it, but it's more appropriately a sin fest rather than a war given how much torture and murder was committed. That's also why he was willing to take on the Laughing coffins for ten minutes in return for logging out. If he succeeded, than his girl friend and adopted daughter would be logged out along with him, in addition to posibibly bring himself some closure for failing to save so many from his old world. And if he was stricken down during those ten minutes... well... you'll just have to read chapter 11 when it comes out.**

 **And lastly, we have Klien VS his father. Perhaps it's a tad chiclé, but it is going to play a very important part in chapter ten and eleven. I won't spoil what happens, but I'll give you a small hint... it involves someone unexpected dying in game.**

 **That should cover it. Please let me know what you think, and feel free to favorite and or follow if you are liking this story, that way you'll know when new chapters are coming out.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Another short chapter. UGH! However, a bit of a warning guys. If you think this is the only new chapter...**

 **Stop.**

 **Don't read a single thing past the AN. Turn back and read chapter nine. Otherwise the content of this chapter will make no sense.**

 **Otherwise, enjoy!**

Her blue eyes gazed around as she blinked open her eyes, a slight smile creeping across her face. Her gaze fluttered on the sleeping guy next to her, and she patted his shoulder gently. _I wonder if he remembers me?_ She asked, referring to that time she fraught with him during the raid on Laughing coffin headquarters.

She'd just realized that was him a few nights ago, and she was amazed at the fact he not only didn't seem to recognize her, but that conversely she didn't recognize him either. Sighing, she twisted over, decided to ask him when he woke up.

That didn't take long. She smiled at him as he yawned. "Good morning Klien," she chirped happily, thoroughly engorging this start to the day. _There's just something about waken up to Kline that is heaven of earth,_ she inwardly sang.

"Morning love," he smiled, brushing some of her hair gently away from her face.

 _Well, here goes,_ she thought, before taking a deep breath. "Klien, do you... remember me? We fought together during that raid on the Laughing coffins, remember?"

Klien just gazed at her for a while, which made her nervous. Her heart sank as the moments of silence dragged on. _I guess he doesn't remember after all,_ she suspected.

Unfortunately, he did remember. And not in a good way.

Before she knew it, she was on the floor, a warning message popping up alerting her to the fact that Klien had committed a crime against her. "What the hell was that for!" She demanded, taken completely by surprise.

"You... your the bastard who help me kill my father!" He shouted, his eyes smoldering with rage and anger. For the first time Leopon was afraid of him. Backing up to the door, she attempted to stand up, swiping away the crime alert message.

"How the hell was I supposed to know he was your father!" she shouted. "I was just trying to save your life!" she added desperately.

Klien closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them and pointing to the door. "Leopon, just go. I want you out. Out of my life, out of my house, out of my guild." he growled. Leopon nodded shakily, though more in anger and indignation than fear.

"Fine then, the next time I see a guy trying to kill you, I'll let him go out of fear that he's your uncle or something!" she shouted, her blue eyes smoldering with rage. The only thing stopping her from dropping him on the spot was the fact that she didn't want to go to jail.

She made her way downstairs, noticing the guy's demeanor changed the moment she reached the third stair from the bottom floor, as if her presence had brought a change to the air. "Where are you going?" Philia asked, her blue-green eyes glittering with worry.

"Just stay out of my way!" Leopon roared, sending the guys scurrying behind the furnishings as she made her way outside. As she closed the door, she could hear the members of her now former guild talking in hushed voices. "Let the good for nothing Samurai tell them," she growled, not even feeling sorry for snapping at her cousin.

She arrived at the teleport gate and warped to the78th floor, before rushing over to the dungeon. "I thought he was the one for me," she whispered to herself, before letting out a sob before she threw herself at the mobs,

Klien simply walked around the room, waiting for his red cursors to turn green. After three hours of waiting, it finally switched, and like a light went on in his head, he realized what he had done. "Oh my gosh, how could I have been so stupid!" he growled at himself, before flying out the door.

On his way out he met Philia, who grabbed him by his collar. "Alright, what happened with Leopon?" She growled, glaring daggers at him." He let out a sob. "I... I said some things I shouldn't have," he whimpered. "We... we have to find her," he added more sharply.

"Alright, I'll contact Asuna and Kirito. And you'd better be able to explain why my cousin was crying like that!" she growled.

"I can't believe you'd do that!" Kirito shouted, nearly socking Klien in the head. If it where not for Asuna holding him back, Kirito would have became a red player, just like Klien had been a few hours ago.

"I... I know," Klien sobbed, genuinely sorry.

"Sorry doesn't cut it buster!" Phillia shouted. "My cousin gave herself for you and how do you repay her?"

However the treasure hunter took a deep breath as she felt Asuna place her left hand on her shoulder while keeping a firm grasp on the endanger Kirito with her right. "You have no right or reason to have hit her, Klien." She began, before closing her eyes.

"But I can understand why you would be upset at learning she was the one who helped you kill your father." Pausing, she opened her eyes again. "I will try and help you to apologize, but after that you are on your own."

"Th...thank you Asuna. I...I really am sorry about what I've done. I feel so... devastated..." His words where cut off by the enraged swordsman.

"Devastated! Devastated! Devastated!" He screeched, getting louder and louder with each saying of the word. "How the hell do you think poor Leopon feels?" He added, before sighing. "You know what, I'm going to help you look for Leopon." However, he gave Klien a look of pure rage. "However, I am not helping you look for her for your sake. I'm only interested in keeping her safe."

Leopon glanced at her map data, before sending a copy to Asuna. "Maybe I can join back with the Knights of the Blood Oath again?" she mused quietly before sighing. "No that bastard of a boyfriend of mine has probably already blabbered that I'm Kayaba's daughter already."

She sliced through more and more Lizardmen, continuing to mow down enemy after enemy. Sighing in sorrow, she finally slumped down, deciding to take a breather.

 _All I was trying to do was help him!_ She inwardly yelled.

"Leopon!" _Oh great! He's some to finish me off. Or drag me to jail for being the creator's daughter._ She thought, drawing her rapier and shield back out, positioning herself in a defensive stance.

"Leopon, we want to talk to you," Hearing Asuna's voice, she slumped down, suddenly unable to fight.

"Well then, Klien. Talk." she mused, keeping her shield out, but sheathing her sword, just in case.

"Look, I'm sorry Leopon. I... I shouldn't have said that. I... I want to start over, ask for your forgiveness." he began, walking toward her.

"Klien... I..." However right as he got close to her her blue-gray eyes hardened. "No!" She shouted, bashing him with his shield, her cursor turning red as she did so.

"Leopon, What are you doing?" Asuna exclaimed loudly.

"You said it was over, and so it is!" Leopon shouted at Klien, before taking off deeper into the Labyrinth.

"Leopon, wait!" Klien shouted, followed by his companions, but she turned a deaf ear to them. Slashing through Lizardmen, she must have made it halfway before she had to stop again.

"Traitors! All of them!" she growled as her vision began to redden from anger and exhaustion.

"Leopon, look out!" Sadly, Asuna's warning came too late, and the last thing Leopon saw before her field of vision turned black was the blade of a Lizardman General.

She gazed around briefly, as she lost all feeling. A single hexagon warning appeared in front of her, stating "You are dead."

"Heh, all this damn trouble over a stupid, simple question," she whispered mournfully, before her vision once again turned black.

 **Five minutes earlier.**

Acer glanced up at the monitors as he headed into the lab, making his way up to Lyra. "I'm sorry I couldn't convince Kayaba to log you out with us. Please...Please forgive me Leopon.

He gently grasped her hand, a suggestion he had gotten from Sachi of all people. Holding her hand gently, he let out a sigh, praying slightly.

"I'm sorry, please forgive me," he whispered, before letting out a small gasp as her hand tightened around his a bit. Glancing up, he noticed a set of beautiful light blue-gray eyes grazing at him in confusion.

"Forgive you for what?" she whispered, her voice raspy from lack of use.

 **Okay, so we have our first character death... Sort of. Like I said before, chapter nine set's the tone for both this and the next chapter. So next chapter, we get to see why Acer, Sachi, and Aacob got to log out early, as well as discover why Lyra's nerve gear did not fry her brain after she died in game. We also get to discover the fate of their relationship as well.**


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